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Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide

This guide was created as an overview of the Linux Operating System, geared toward new users as an exploration tour and getting started guide, with exercises at the end of each chapter.
For more advanced trainees it can be a desktop reference, and a collection of the base knowledge needed to proceed with system and network administration. This book contains many real life examples derived from the author's experience as a Linux system and network administrator, trainer and consultant. They hope these examples will help you to get a better understanding of the Linux system and that you feel encouraged to try out things on your own.

PRO- you can install one linux distro on everybox you have in your house.
CON- with XP, if you want to upgrade hardware, you have to call uncle bill gates and get permission.......(Windows Product Activation is basically spyware!!)

I want to learn webdesign - i'm buying my own domain name within the next month or two and getting a years of hosting, and I already know html / css/ and im learning php. I wanna learn how to script stuff and whatnot

Ok, next question even tho its already here probably somewhere - how do I get linux? I mean like ftp://ftp.phys.ttu.edu/pub/mandrake/iso/ is one of the ftp sites from mandrake.com's links to download from - but what do I do? I was told to burn linux to a cd and format my hard drive? to just use LILO and keep both win XP and linux.

This is a biased opinion (many distributions can do this) but I'd recommend Ark Linux, as it can do everything you need (with the exception of half-life, of course) right out of the box. Plus, once you start to get more experienced, you can use WINE (WINE Is Not an Emulator) to play Windows games and run Windows applications.

But yeah, pretty much any fully-loaded KDE or GNOME-based distribution should do the trick (others include Mandrake, SuSE, RedHat, Fedora, etc.) but I would have to recommend against RH/Fedora (can't play MP3 files without a patch, and software can be difficult to install)

And remember, the Linux world _hates_ mIRC. So from now on, drop the "m" when you're referring to it. The most popular IRC client on linux is Xchat, but there are a plethora of others to choose from.

As for Instant messaging, Ark Linux comes with Kopete by default (it's a lot like Trillian for windows if you've ever used that) but there's also gAIM which is probably the most popular (although I prefer Kopete).

As for MP3s, Ark Linux comes with Platero, which is a lot like KaZaA for windows only it runs on all the most popular networks (not just fasttrack like kazaa) but again, there are many alternatives that you could get on other distributions, but I can't think of any that come with a file-sharing application by default.

I reccomend using Fedora as a beginner, it is very customizable and great for coding anything. Im a PHP/HTML/JS/.NET/C++ (sadly, lol) coder, and Fedora has been my choice of programmin between my 3 Linux OSs (mandrake, fedora, white box)

The only con of linux that I could imagine may be hardware support... even though ALOT is supported, it is harder to install some things than on XP.

A few things that may be bothersum I'd assume to be the learning curve. Linux takes you from the passanger seat and throws you into the drivers. You are really in control, and the only way to understand that is to get your hands dirty with it.

Getting used to the command line can at first seem pointless. But, it seriously is a powerful tool.. and at first, you may seem like it is slower.. but, its really not, there is alot of "combanations" that can be pulled off to make life so easy..

Point and Click gets very boring.. and with linux, Personal Computer becomes a WHOLE new meaning. Your computer actually becomes what you want it to be. It is your computer.

Good Luck to ya..

PS Don't feel overwhelmed by the flavors of linux. Take your time on an easy one, then expand your knowledge by tryin others. You'll see one day that Mandrake may be easy, but Slackware is just so much more fun *my opinion

Then you open the box, open the CD cover,
insert the 1st CD into the drive, and reboot
the computer. If it's not set-up to boot from
CD you enter the BIOS, change that appropriately,
and boot again....